Coaster101 heads to Tampa, FL and Busch Gardens Tampa for our “K” Coaster of the Week; Kumba. This Bolliger and Mabillard steel coaster has been wowing guests in the Congo section of Busch Gardens Tampa since 1993. Kumba is named for the Kongo word for “Roar,” which is a perfect name, given its B&M manufacturing.
Kumba was designed by notable roller coaster designer Warner Stengel, and takes riders 143’ in the air, which made it the tallest roller coaster in Florida when it opened in 1993. (A record it later conceded to Montu, a B&M inverted coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa) After a 135’ drop, riders traverse through 7 inversions and nearly 4,000 feet of coaster track during the ride’s 3:00 experience.
Kumba features a 108’ high vertical loop that travels around the lift hill, which was also a record in 1993. (The height record later was surpassed by the 118’ loop on PortAventura’s Dragon Khan) It is one of only three roller coasters in the world with a loop around the lift hill, and was the first roller coaster to feature this element. (Riddler’s Revenge at Six Flags Magic Mountain, and now Banshee at Kings Island are the other two. Kumba also features as a set of iconic interlocking Corkscrews that seem to be one of the most photographed portions of the coaster.
Kumba consistently scores well in Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards for top steel roller coaster, and is one of only seven roller coasters that has been ranked in the top 50 every year since the awards were created in 1998. Ranking as high as 4 in 1998, and bottoming out at 31 in 2011.
Were you able to guess the “K” Coaster of the week? Come back next week as we highlight the “L” Coaster!
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